The lad wore undyed pants frayed at the hems, a plain shirt stained with blood, and grass sandals ready to fall apart. Rock Head tucked his chin, keeping his eyes on the ground. He bent his back in an approximation of a bow. “I’m needed?”
Hong Fei gestured for the two of them to continue walking. The pace was already slow; it didn’t need delays added onto it. “Where did the blood come from?” he asked.
The lad blinked. His eyes crossed a little as he considered the question, then he looked at his shirt. “This? A masked one hit me in the nose.”
“Oh, why was that?” As Hong Fei had asked the question, he’d scanned the path ahead. The scree would be ending soon, and it wasn’t clear yet which direction to go from there. They’d have to trust the donkey to know the way.
Once again there was a delay before Rock Head responded, his eyes crossing. “I was slow to get in the cage,” he replied. “I have to think to understand what people tell me to do.”
Hong Fei glanced behind him. The laborers in the cart were watching the two of them intently. They expect me to reward him, he thought, which perfectly matches my needs.
“Why did you speak out earlier?” Hong Fei asked.
Rock Head nodded at the question. He seemed to pick his words carefully. “That wasn’t an insult to you. Not everyone knows the warrior-mockers, knows how they cost. What the other man did was not good, and my father always said, ‘Good is good.’ So that’s why.”
“Because good is good,” Hong Fei clarified.
The lad smiled, happy to be understood. “Yes, that’s it.”
“Do you have a job?” Hong Fei asked.
The young man ducked his head again. He wiped his hands on his pants. “Here and there.”
Hong Fei, conscious of the eavesdroppers, patted the lad on the shoulder. “It’s refreshing to meet one who believes in doing good for good’s sake. Once we’re at the House of Yu, I’ll see about finding you a job in my household there.”
Rock Head gulped. “But I’m not a soldier.”
“Neither am I,” Hong Fei told him. “Not anymore.”
###
Yu Ning lightly ran her finger along the rim of her cup, thinking of how fragile it must be. The tea inside was the color of straw, the scent woodsy yet with hints of apricots. She didn’t like the flavor much, but she drank it anyway since the tea helped to keep the throbbing at her temples from turning into a proper headache.
Across the table, Zhang Dehua and Chen Wenbin sorted through the accounting of what the House of Yu had gained by raiding the Rock Knife Gang. The three of them sat in the library, now her office.
“How is it?” she asked of her senior staff.
“Profitable,” was Zhang Dehua precise summary. “Very much so.”
Chen Wenbin nodded, his expression gratified. “By hitting multiple locations in sequence, each of our squads was able to raid two or three businesses before the Rock Knives could react. I can’t say we’ve crippled them—the gang’s roots run deep—but we’ve hurt them for certain.”
“And the cost?” Yu Ning pressed.
Chen Wenbin cleared his throat. “Five dead, fourteen injured, and… two missing.”
Yu Ning licked her lips. Her decisions had killed five of their own, yet the needs of the house must be met. And the coiling anger within her continued to burn unabated; she felt strangled by it.
“The families of the dead will be paid double the usual compensation,” she ordered, “and the wounded are to be treated with the medicines we recovered from the Rock Knives.”
“It will be done,” Zhang Dehua replied. Then he added, “The gang kept enough pills, salves, and bandages on hand to support a small army.”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“They do have people elsewhere on the island,” Chen Wenbin pointed out. “There are enough gangsters to need that much support.” He drank from his own teacup. “It’s likely Ruby Swift City is a transit point for them, since it’s well positioned to bring in natural treasures from the surrounding wilderness and transport them down to Blue Lotus City.”
Zhang Dehua put down the paper in his hands to pick up another one. “We’ll need to be ready for when they strike back, especially their leader. Stone Mountain Ox won’t sit idly by.”
“We will,” Chen Wenbin said. “He took us by surprise at the Ma estate. That won’t happen again. And, as for the rest of the gang, I have my shízhǎng’s working to allocate the looted cultivation resources among our people.”
“We’ve collected quite a lot,” Zhang Dehua noted.
“Indeed,” Chen Wenbin replied, the hint of a smile on his face. “I shall resume my own climb, thanks to the Rock Knives’ generosity.”
Yu Ning felt a knot of worry twisting her gut. She took a breath to steady herself, then tapped on the table to get the men’s attention. “You will report any difficulties immediately.”
Chen Wenbin bowed while seated. “Of course, your grace.”
Instead of easing, however, the knot of worry tightened. “We haven’t discussed yet our missing,” she said. “How goes the investigation?”
Zhang Dehua put down the paper in his hands. “Our agents haven’t found any sign of Dūtóu Hong or his spirit beast, though Scholar Sun is adamant both are still alive. He was evasive when I asked about the source of his certainty, claiming a magical bond between the three of them.”
Yu Ning’s brows furrowed. “Not an artifact? If I recall correctly, the sects have things like soul lamps to keep track of their members’ wellbeing.”
The steward sighed. “I pressed the scholar for details, yet he refused to answer.”
“Scholar Sun is adept at manipulating his own qi, it’s possible he left a small portion within his companions’ meridians,” Chen Wenbin conjectured. “I cannot see any other way it’s possible. That kind of magic should be beyond the three of them.”
The house’s dūtóu was an enigmatic figure. The man truly seemed to live in the house’s shadows, his actions only partially visible to those in the light. Yu Ning chose to wonder about one of her suspicions aloud: “Unless they have a benefactor we don’t know about. That person might be capable of such a spell.”
“My agents didn’t uncover anything like a backer when investigating the dūtóu’s background,” Zhang Dehua said. “His story is well documented.”
“But not Scholar Sun’s,” Chen Wenbin observed, his expression turning stern.
Yu Ning recognized it as his thinking face.
“That’s true,” Zhang Dehua replied to the xiàowèi. “My agents haven’t found anything about him yet.”
“His expertise is remarkable for someone who appeared so abruptly,” Yu Ning commented.
The steward nodded. “He told me his education was through tutors and self-study.”
“That was what he also said to me.” Yu Ning drank the last of the distasteful tea and suppressed a scowl.
“The other option is that Scholar Sun is lying in order to preserve his place in the dūtóu’s household and keep us from firing him,” Chen Wenbin offered, “though I don’t believe that’s the case. Any of us would happily hire someone with his skills. There’s no need for dissembling.”
“Are you questioning Hong Fei’s intentions?” Zhang Dehua asked the duchess.
I’m questioning everyone’s intentions, she thought. But aloud she said, “I don’t believe so. The dūtóu saved Yong’s life and defended our house. His people have served us honorably, including by helping to safeguard Xiàowèi Chen’s cultivation. I just… I can’t help thinking that Hong Fei isn’t simple.”
“He’s certainly not,” Chen Wenbin blurted out. “How a man’s mind can be so simultaneously sharp and twisted is beyond me.”
A quiet descended upon the table as the people around it considered the matter. The worry and the anger within Yu Ning wrestled each other, upsetting her stomach. She’d ask for more tea later, something calming. And a simple porridge for dinner.
She made sure her voice was steady when she said, “I do hope Scholar Sun is correct about Hong Fei and Ling being alive.”
The others nodded, then Chen Wenbin stilled. “What if…” he started, then paused to consider further the idea before continuing. “What if Hong Fei is concealing his true cultivation? Wouldn’t that also explain the connection between the three of them? Perhaps he cast the spell himself.”
Zhang Dehua brows rose. “But why would he do such a thing? Hiding one’s realm doesn’t make sense. It’s the source of might, influence, wealth… everything.”
“Don’t underestimate the value of being able to surprise one’s enemies,” Chen Wenbin said. “He also might have enemies of his own… people he’s hiding from. A Body-Forged warrior is much less noticeable than a Qi-Blossoming one.”
“You think he’s Qi Blossoming?” Zhang Dehua scoffed. “And he picked our house to hide in? That’s like fleeing a sinking ship by jumping into a shark’s jaws.”
Yu Ning startled at the comparison. She coughed lightly to warn the steward of its inappropriateness.
“Ah, my apologies, your grace,” Zhang Dehua quickly said, “but you know what I mean.”
The duchess nodded. “Alas, I do. But we’ve made good strides these past few days in turning our fortunes around, and I find myself strangely comforted by the idea of our dūtóu concealing his cultivation. It means we have a more powerful servant in him than others would expect.”
“Assuming he’s alive,” Zhang Dehua pointed out.
“Yes, of course,” Yu Ning replied.
“I have one last thought,” Chen Wenbin said. “It occurs to me that Scholar Sun’s ability to lend qi to another is a perfect cover for Dūtóu Hong’s own use of qi-based powers.”
“You are intent on building this case?” Zhang Dehua asked.
“No,” Chen Wenbin replied, “but like the duchess, I find myself thinking our dūtóu isn’t simple.”
“You’ll let me know as soon as you learn anything further,” Yu Ning commanded.
Both men bowed to her, then the steward glanced at the papers in front of him. “And we’ll have a full tally of our gains ready for you by this evening. Next, I propose we discuss the families who should be targeted by our new ally at the Department of Crimes and Punishments. Shall we proceed?”
Yu Ning nodded, letting him know to continue. She gazed at the empty teacup in her hands as she listened. The anger and the worry wouldn’t let her be.
ten chapters ahead. :)
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Auntie Ling, Uncommon Badger 3 | 3
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Scholar Sun Han 2 | 2
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Chen Wenbin, xiàowèi, commander of the troops stationed at the Yu estate
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Rock Head, a young man with red 3 who Hong Fei first spotted at a distance, appears to be a match for Ugly Dog
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Yu Ning, duchess and head of the House of Yu
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Zhang Dehua, the steward for the Yu family